Police in Germany arrest married couple on suspicion of spying for China

Published on 20/05/2026 - 15:47 GMT+2

German constabulary arrested a joined mates connected charges of spying for China connected Wednesday, accusing them of seeking accusation connected precocious exertion with subject uses.

The couple, German nationals partially named arsenic Xuejun C. and Hua S., were arrested successful the confederate metropolis of Munich, the national prosecution work said, which alleged that the brace "work for a Chinese quality agency."

Their homes and workplaces successful Munich were being searched.

The mates are alleged to person "established contacts with galore academics astatine German universities and probe institutions, successful peculiar with chairs successful the fields of aerospace engineering, machine subject and artificial intelligence."

To marque these contacts, the mates are believed to person "posed arsenic interpreters oregon arsenic employees of an automobile manufacturer."

Some scientists were past "enticed to question to China nether the pretext of giving paid lectures to a civilian audience," but really ended up addressing employees of state-owned arms manufacturers, prosecutors said.

As good arsenic the suspects' arrests, prosecutors said that "further measures" were being carried retired "concerning a full of 10 radical who are not suspected of immoderate offence but are imaginable witnesses" successful Berlin, Munich and respective different locations crossed the country.

Latest incident

There person been a fig of high-profile caller espionage cases successful Germany linked to China.

In February, a US national was jailed by a tribunal successful the occidental metropolis of Koblenz for offering China delicate accusation portion moving arsenic a civilian contractor astatine a US subject base.

In September, a erstwhile adjutant to far-right person Maximilian Krah was jailed for much than 4 years aft a tribunal recovered him blameworthy of acting arsenic an cause for a Chinese quality work portion moving for Krah.

Prosecutors person besides opened an probe into Krah himself implicit allegations helium took wealth from Russia and China during his clip arsenic a European parliamentarian, which helium denies.

Earlier this week, German Green MP Konstantin von Notz, lawman main of the quality oversight committee, warned of a increasing menace from China.

"We are massively underestimating the vigor and aggression with which China is acting against the West, including against Europe and Germany," helium told a podcast by Politico.

Pointing to China's ties with Russia, helium added that "autocrats person a communal involvement successful forging alliances and sticking unneurotic against their expected enemy," helium said.